Turning Moon
by Infamous.Lady
Summary: The dreams won't stop. Time is running out. Can they beat the it? Most importanly, can Edward and Bella help the one who can save them?
1. Preface

Preface

It was the same nightmare I had last year when Edward left. I remember it haunting me for months, and I remember waking up screaming from it.

But tonight, it was different. I was not alone in the darkness. Someone was there with me, and I knew that someone. I knew him; his eyes hazel honey shone in the dark, his brown hair sparkled like that day in the meadow, and even in the dark, I could see and feel the warm glow eliminating from him. I reached out to him, my heart filling with happiness because I was not alone: he was with me in this overwhelming darkness.

And then, all the happiness vanished as he began to disappear. There was no emotions in his eyes as I watched in horror as he disintegrated. His lips began to move, calling out to me, but I couldn't make out the whispers. He was not glowing anymore.

In a second, he was gone.

I woke up screaming, just like so long ago. I stuffed my face into the pillow to muffle my scream. In the other room, I heard Charlie snore.

Edward opened his eyes and scrutinized me with his gaze. I knew that he was not really sleeping. My breathing was heavy, and I could not relax even though Edward's arms were wrapped around my waist.

"Bella?" he asked in his velvet voice, his eyes searching my face.

Somehow, somewhere, I found my voice but it still came out hoarse and broken.

"You vanished."


	2. 1 Guest

1. Guest

Monday decided to bring the missed sun to the little town of Forks which meant that Edward and his family won't be at school today. I turned off my alarm clock without giving it a second chance to ring, ignoring the bright lights coming from the window. There was no one in my room; he was long gone. On the table he left me a note.

_**Be safe. **_

The same one he put in my truck two years back when he went hunting. His calligraphy was godlike compared to my scribbles. It took him less than a millisecond to write a paragraph compared to a human speed of 300 words in 5 minutes. I sighed and hurried to the shower before Charlie could occupy it. The regular morning without Edward began, and already I wished for it to end.

I brushed my teeth and run a comb through my hair. I didn't think about anything as I put on a blue long sleeved T-shirt and a pair of faded jeans. Alice got me into a habit of using an eye shadow, and so I applied a small amount of a green colour just above my eyes. I didn't like it but it made Alice happy. She said that it added to my human beauty. On that, I always refused to comment. Back in my room, I made my bed and placed my PJs under the pillow. Once I was done, I grabbed my school bag that rested beside the bed post and hurried down the stairs to the kitchen.

Charlie was eating breakfast and turning the pages of a newspaper at the same time. He looked up from his reading once he heard me, to make sure I don't fall and to wish me good morning with his smile. It never bugged me that we were people of a few words; I loved it. I was never good at public speeches of any kind, and my oral presentations back at Phoenix were usually graded poorly by my teachers. The idea of presenting something in front of 60 eyes never appealed to me.

"Edward called," Charlie informed while I "hunted" for my breakfast. I stopped frozen in spot with the bowl of cereal in one hand, milk in another. Since when did Edward start to use the phone?

By the silence it seemed that Charlie wanted me to respond to somehow.

"When?" was all I could think of, mentally kicking myself.

"About an hour ago. I told him that you were still asleep and asked if I could pass a message."

Silence. My mind asked if he was doing that on purpose.

"Did he?"

"No, he didn't pass anything. Did you two get in a fight?" Charlie's voice was hopeful, but I was fast to disappoint him.

"No, Dad, we're fine. I guess it just wasn't urgent."

"Or maybe it was private," Charlie hinted. I walked around the room to the table and put my bowl down. "Bella, is there something you aren't telling me?"

"No, Dad, nothing." Besides the fact that Edward is a vampire and that I'm in mortal danger from a vampire named Victoria, nothing at all, Dad. Don't worry.

My tone of voice must have sounded sincere to Charlie's ears because he didn't press on. He turned his attention back to the morning paper as I ate my cereal in silence. I didn't watch as time ticked away, and I snapped out of my reverie only when I heard the front door shut loudly behind Charlie. If I am not going to hurry, I will be late.

I rinsed the bowl and dried it, putting it away in the cupboard above the sink. I headed out of the door with no thoughts in my head. My truck brought me back to life. I forgot the way my engine roars due to the fact that I only drove it during these rare sunny days. I didn't miss them. If rain meant Edward--and it did-- , then I would like for it to fall from the sky right this second. Only it didn't, and I was left dreaming for it.

* * *

The school parking lot was full with cars by the time I made it, and the spot where silver Volvo usually stood was empty. I felt my heart sunk because I was hoping deep inside that maybe he would be here today. I missed him already.

I parked my ancient truck on his place and killed the engine. A warning bell rang, and reluctantly, I had to get out of the car and get to my first period class without Edward but with Mike and Jessica. Those two weren't together anymore, and barely even spoke a word to each other since the break up, but both of them sometimes talk to me. I was turned into a mediator against my own will, and Edward wouldn't succumb into turning me into a vampire. The irony of the situation got to me every time I thought of it.

Mike was waiting for me, faithful as ever, in front of our English building. He was looking through the air beside me where Edward usually walked, and when he didn't see him, I noticed his mood brighten. I could feel it three miles away, and it got stronger as I neared.

"Hey Mike," I greeted, unable to resist his catchy mood.

"Hey Bella. Where's Edward today?" He asked, not really interested in the information, just glad that he wasn't anywhere near by. Poor Mike. I wasn't going to give him any ideas.

"He's hiking but he should be back tomorrow," I replied cheerfully and watched as Mike's face fell. He would never get it.

"Oh," and it sounded so sad, so I felt sad for him for just one second. The feeling was gone when he opened the door and stepped into the classroom, not bothering to hold the door for me. A gentleman turned into an average human being in all but the short time of disappointment.

Mr. Mason ushered me inside, as he was running late, a minute before the final bell rang. I hurried to my seat alongside Angela at the back of the class. She looked pointedly at Edward's empty seat and then at me. I tore off a piece of paper loose from my binder, and scribbled as neatly as I possibly could.

_He's hiking._

Angela nodded with understanding and hid the paper in her binder. Jessica raised an eyebrow in questioning form, wondering why I left her oblivious while it concerned my relationship. I waved her off, promising with my eyes to tell her later, and focused on memorized speech Mr. Mason was giving the class, wishing Edward would be here.

"Where's Edward?" Jess asked, not letting me escape past her on our way to Trig class. I didn't have a chance to tell her after English as I had to hurry to my History class because the teacher promised us a long and hard test. Once again, it turned out to be false information because we had a quiz instead of a test, and it wasn't that bad.

"He's hiking," I gave her the same reply as I gave Angela.

"Does that mean you're free tonight? Lauren invited me to a sleepover, but we practically spend all the time together, I wanted you to come too."

Was that an invitation from Jessica or Lauren, I wondered. I didn't ask.

"Edward is coming back today, I'll be with him. I'm sorry," I hedges but tried to sound as apologetic as possible. The truth is, I wasn't sorry. Spending a night with Lauren was more scary and frightening than Victoria herself right now.

"That's all right. We can do something else later," Jessica smiled, but I could see that she was disappointed. Maybe the real reason she asked me to come was because every sleepover had that part in it when a girl who is dating has to dish out about her relationship. I would never know.

"Hey, who's that girl over there? She is staring at you," Jessica asked, tagging me on my sleeve and pointing her finger rudely in the direction of the parking lot.

My heart gave a neurotic jump as my mind spit the name out. Victoria. She's here, at my school, in this very parking lot, coming to kill me. And Edward is at home because today is sunny.

Hang on a second.

Victoria is a vampire and exposing herself will bring her death by Volturi. Sun is one of the ways to expose a vampire, and I don't think Victoria wants to die. She set out a goal to kill me, and so far she has been living up to that. Literally. Still, I didn't turn to look at her.

"What does she look like?" I asked Jessica, knowing that my question would probably cause multiples in return. I wasn't expecting a straight-out answer.

"Well," Jessica gushed into vivid and detailed description. "She's tall, with dark black hair that is as long as yours, and she's wearing some sort of a robe. She's leaning against a wall of the main building and she's watching you very intently. She has very white skin, although I can't be sure because of the robe."

"Is she standing in the sunlight?" I inquired, my voice betraying me. Jessica seemed puzzled by the question, but answered nonetheless.

"Yeah, why?"

"Nothing. Come on, let's get to class. We're going to be late," I hedged, grabbing her by the sleeve this time after shaking her hand off mine, and dragged her along with me. I didn't look at the strange girl at all. I was happy though because she wasn't Victoria, but I didn't look back.

* * *

The rest of the school day shimmered in front of me. Without Edward, time didn't matter. It separated me from him, so I ignored it whenever he wasn't near.

However, the strange girl continued to monitor me which gave a heebie-jeebies. At lunch, I spotted her at Cullen's table where they sat during my first year at Forks. She was eating, though, and seeing her eat calmed me down a little. And then brought the worry back up again when I remembered that Edward could pretend to eat. I put down my pizza slice and joined the animated conversation Jessica was having with Angela who had agreed to come to a sleepover. Lauren was squinting at me angrily for the reasons I couldn't begin to name.

After my last class, Gym, where I let Mike take all balls in our basketball team, and getting a very generous and totally undeserved high-five from him, I noticed the girl beside my car. She was watching me and when she saw me look at her, she hurried away. Any other time, I would have followed her, but my instincts were telling me to get in the car, drive home and call Edward. I agreed with the first part, but not with the last two. Instead, I made a decision to drive to Cullens and speak to Edward face to face about this freaky girl. Surely he would want to know.

I turned the key and the truck roared to life, scaring a whole lot of passer-bys half to death. The girl closed her ears with her hands, looking out from her long white robe to inspect the object responsible for all the noise. Her eyebrows turned questioningly up, and it was the first time in the whole day that she met my eyes. They were blue, and they were deep, like Edward's. I always drowned in his honey eyes, and hers would have had the same affect on me if she was a male. She appeared to be puzzled by the noise my truck made and didn't realize she was scrutinizing me openly. I snapped out of our staring contest, and deliriously made my way out of the parking lot.

The drive to Edward's house took my truck a good half hour. In his car, we would have been there in a mere seconds. I was becoming more restless as I searched for the right turn that always stayed hidden from my sight. I didn't want to miss it again.

I saw the turn and shifted, anticipation rising as I neared the house. What I didn't expect to see is the girl standing there, talking to Edward. He saw my truck come to a stop and was beside the door to open it in a flash. I stared through him at the girl.

"Who is she?" I asked, still delirious and really confused.

"Her name is Asha," Edward replied, taking me out of the car. "She's a healer, and she's our guest."


	3. 2 Warning

_From the author:_ Asha is my own creation. I'm planning to write her personal history at a later date. The other characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

**2. Warning**

"I'm sorry if I had alerted you in any undesirable way during my presence at your school today," Asha apologized in a silky, musical voice. We went in the house, I did so with the help from Edward. I was a bit perplexed, I got to admit.

"That's all right," was all I could mumble. By my side, Edward chucked softly. The sound rang in my ears louder than usual. I squinted at it.

"Asha is here for Jasper," Edward explained. "We wanted to make sure he wouldn't attack again at a sight of blood."

"That still doesn't explain why she was following me around today." I tried not to sound rude as I said it.

"I really apologize for that," Asha smiled, looking down. Edward interrupted her by putting his hand up.

"I asked her to look after you, Bella."

"You did…what?" He was in for it now.

"Hello, Bella," Alice singed-song as she danced into the room. "Hi Asha. Long time no see. What brought you here?"

"You wouldn't happen to know, would you?" Asha inquired, raising a teasing eyebrow.

"Nope."

I couldn't help but laugh, and the sound lightened the mood instantly. The others in the room joined in, Alice's laughter the musical of all. Edward slid his arm around my waist and pulled me so I was seated on his lap. Asha viewed our formation with a look of question in her eyes and turned to Alice for an answer. Alice nodded her head curtly and flashed me a smile. The silent conversation confused and began to wear me out. Edward could sense that because I shifted endlessly. He chuckled.

"I think Bella is a bit impatient. Asha, do you mind sharing your story?" Edward asked, his voice concerned. I didn't understand why it sounded like that until I looked at Asha. She was fidgeting her fingers. Edward lowered his gaze as he brushed his hand over my hair. "Would you like me to tell her?"

"No, I need to give it a try on my own," Asha insisted, her voice shaking. She stopped fidgeting with her fingers and looked around the room. I could sense her uneasiness but I could also sense that she was doing all in her power to beat it.

"You don't have to if it's too hard for you," I heard myself say. Behind me, Edward placed his head on my shoulder. Both of his arms circled around my waist. I knew by this that he was approving of my question.

Asha shifted her gaze from the window and looked at me appreciably. "I have to do this," she said. She walked towards me and pulled up a chair to sit on. Her hands were intertwined and placed on her lap. "It was easier with Edward, he just read my mind," she chuckled nervously. I watched her as she took a deep breath, and with shaking hands, lowered the hood of her robe and turned her head sideways for me to see something.

What I saw was something I would never have imagined to see in my entire life. There were not bruises or scratches that she had showed me, but pointed ears, the ones I saw in _Lord of the Rings_ on Arwen and Legolas, and other elves. I couldn't believe my eyes. Asha watched a surprise dance across my face.

"I must admit I would never get used to the surprised faces," Asha admitted in a sweet voice that filled the room. "Still, it is my story, and it would be my first time telling it. Bare with me, because it's hard.

_I'm 300 years old. I was born in the little village just outside London, England, and while young, my parents decided to cross the ocean. For our kind, elves, it was possible to do so without even a ship, but it took a long time. The ocean was frozen, my mother carried me on her arms while my father carried her. It took them two weeks to cross. _

_I was very young then, not even a year old. Once the path was over, my parents settled with elves in the nearest area they could find. Upon two years, my mother began my training. I was to become a healer. Ten years of training and up to seven years of wondering the world should ready me for any challenge. _

_It was on my fifth year that I was turned. The patient I have been with turned out to be a newborn vampire who couldn't control the thirst. During one of my visits, he bit me. For elves, once bitten we are forever damned. We don't need the share of vampire blood. We become half breeds. Unfortunately, this young vampire was unaware of the consequences of feeding of an elf. The blood of our kind is a lethal poison. He died forever in my arms as I felt tears sting my eyes and fall down my face. I couldn't go back to my parents and other elves now. I was not one of them anymore. _

_I disappeared, I guess. I think it is the appropriate term to use as to what happened to me. I knew that there would be search parties once I didn't return two years later. I anticipated them, and they came. Looking for me but I wasn't going to be found. _

_I hid underground for the next two years, coming out only one day of the month when the moon was full and I needed feeding. I was bitten in a day of a full moon. It was my turning day, the only day I was not capable of controlling my thirst for human blood. During those days I was the most feral beast and I could do nothing to control myself. The blood of animals didn't subdue my thirst, and that's when I realized that I was a monster. Human blood was the only kind of blood I craved because the vampire who bit me lived only on the human blood. If I were to be bitten by one of the other of the kind, that might have had different turn on me. _

_But I was what I was, and after two years of endless suffering and pain, I accepted it. I also remembered that I was a healer and nothing was stopping me the rest of the days of all the months of the year to be one. During normal days, I ate human food. I required it for my survival because I was a half-elf. The search, as I listened to the wind, had stopped. I was presumed dead by my own parents. It came as a shock to me and for days, I cried. I avoided human contact as much possible, only acquiring it when my job was the case. I was a healer, and it kept me sane. _

_After a century, give or take a decade, the transformations became less painful and I was able, due to the constant practice, to refrain myself from drinking the human blood. The animal blood now wasn't as bad as it used to be. I was happy because of that change. I didn't feel like a horrible creature anymore and I allowed myself some human contact. That was a mistake. _

_The sun didn't hurt. My elfin part prevented my skin from burning. I could come out and walk amongst the humans without them suspecting anything. My long hair I used to hide the point ends of my ears. Elves were a fascination in eighteen hundreds and although not a whole lot believed in them didn't mean they weren't looking. I tried to avoid the grown-ups especially because they were always the sneaky ones. Children I could handle. _

Asha stood up from her chair and moved swiftly to stand beside the large window that was looking out to the driveway. Her eyebrows narrowed, her face changed into one of a great pain. I understood that whatever was coming next was going to be hard for her to talk about. I gazed at Edward whose eyes were closed, his head still resting on my shoulder. If I wouldn't have known, I would have said that he was sleeping.

Asha's attention shifted to us, me and Edward, sitting on the sofa, locked together in the hug of two who love each other. I saw a glimpse of desire escape her but only for a second. She took a deep breath and turned away, once again looking out of the window, into the past that only she could see.

She never told us the rest of the story, and I didn't press her. Whatever it was, she couldn't let it go just yet and needed time.

"That's all right," I said. "I have some things I'm not sure I'll ever be able to share with my parents. Your situation is different, but all I'm saying is that I can relate, on some level."

I was rumbling. I could hear it. I was rumbling, stalling the time.

"You mean about Edward?" Asha guessed, watching us. Edward's eyes were opened now and were fixed on me, waiting for my answer.

"Well, the fact that he's a vampire, yes."

Alice tried to hide her chuckle behind her hand. I grinned.

"Alice, we all know you can see it," Emmett mumbled, a bit sarcastically. Alice pulled on an angelic face as she turned to him.

"See what?"

"Never mind."

"Thought so."

Carlisle shook his head at the exchange. By the time Asha had finished her story, the whole Cullen family was gathered in the living room. Actually, they spread out in the living room. Jasper stood as far away from me as possible, trying to avoid my gaze. He was still ashamed of the birthday's incident and my attempts to convince him that he was forgiven had failed miserably. He wasn't taking chances.

"Alice," Carlisle frowned as he addressed her. "Are you going to tell us?"

"If I will, then I won't have a pleasure of enjoying the surprise."

Edward grinned. "She won't tell."

"And neither would you, right, Edward?" Esme laughed. Edward shook his head. I observed everything, following it closely when it struck me and I grinned involuntarily. The corners of my mouth just pulled up by themselves. Asha was the only one to take notice, and she looked really pleased.

"You are observant," she addressed me while everyone enjoyed the inside joke I was in on now.

"A quality no one should ignore," Edward said in his sweet voice that gave me shivers every time he used it.

"So, Asha," Carlisle said, in hopes of changing the subject. "What brought you here in a first place?"

The sudden question caught her off guard. She snapped out of the easy conversation and I watched as she tried to focus on the importance of her visit. Finally, she seemed to recall the reason of her sudden arrival. Her eyes wandered around the room, taking in the surroundings, including the presences. Jasper straightened up near the wall, Rosalie seemed to shift a bit under the look of the healer's eyes. Emmett wrapped his arms around Rosalie, and I watched as she calmed visibly. When her eyes drifted to me, she didn't show me any resentment. I couldn't trust it though, because Jasper was in the room. For a minute though, it felt good to have her look at me without pure hatred in her eyes. For a minute, it was nice to feel as if she had finally accepted me as a part of this family. Just only for a minute because Asha composed herself enough to tell us the news.

"Well, if you must know, and you should, I came here to bring a warning. Something bad is coming, I saw it."

"If you mean the Volturi, we already know."

Asha shook her head. "No, it's nothing like that. It's something more, even stronger than anything I have ever seem myself, and I have seen a lot. I'm not sure what it is yet, but one thing I am certain of: it's not good."

The hair in the back of my neck stood up. Yes, I did have a sense of self-preservation after all.

"How can there be anything stronger than Volturi?" Esme's voice was a faint whisper. In her eyes, I saw worry. Edward's hold on me tightened to the extent where I had to remind him that I still had to breathe in order to live. His arms loosened a bit, and he kissed my neck as in apology.

"I don't know," Asha replied. "That's why I came to you. In my vision, whatever happened, happened here, in this town. I thought I should warn you and stay, in case you might need me."

The room grew silent.

Really, really silent.

"Edward," I asked. He looked at me. "Don't even think about it," I warned, putting a menacing sound in my voice.


End file.
